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After Attack, Iraq Bans US Security Firm

Baghdad blames civilian deaths on Blackwater, threatens prosecution

By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser User

Posted Sep 17, 2007 11:45 AM CDT
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(Newser) – The Iraqi government has revoked an American security contractor's license to do business in the country and is weighing criminal charges against employees who allegedly opened fire on civilians yesterday, the AP reports. Blackwater USA personnel were escorting a State Department convoy through Baghdad when they opened fire, killing eight civilians and wounding 13, an interior ministry spokesman said.

The shooting is still under investigation, but officials said foreign contractors would be prosecuted if they used excessive force. Security firms are unpopular among Iraqis, and the ban is sure to boost support for PM Nouri al-Maliki. It wasn't clear whether the license revocation was temporary or permanent, and Blackwater officials were not available for comment.

Blackwater USA employees receive instruction along a make-shift street scene before practicing a vehicle ambush response drill, in this Feb. 20, 2004, file photo, on Blackwater's land near Moyock, N.C. An American employee of security giant Blackwater shot to death a bodyguard for an Iraqi vice president on Dec....
Blackwater USA employees receive instruction along a make-shift street scene before practicing a vehicle ambush response drill, in this Feb. 20, 2004, file photo, on Blackwater's land near Moyock, N.C....   (Associated Press)
A sign at the entrance to Blackwater USA, in Moyock N.C., is shown in this Jan. 23, 2007, file photo. The Interior Ministry said Monday Sept. 17, 2007 that it was pulling the license of Blackwater USA, a security firm allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of civilians during...
A sign at the entrance to Blackwater USA, in Moyock N.C., is shown in this Jan. 23, 2007, file photo. The Interior Ministry said Monday Sept. 17, 2007 that it was pulling the license of Blackwater USA,...   (Associated Press)
Blackwater CEO and Founder Erik Prince listens during a panel discussion on protecting people and physical security hosted by North Carolina Technology Association in Cary, N.C., Thursday, June 7, 2007. In a rare public appearance, Prince told a group of business executives that both private companies and law-enforcement agencies...
Blackwater CEO and Founder Erik Prince listens during a panel discussion on protecting people and physical security hosted by North Carolina Technology Association in Cary, N.C., Thursday, June 7, 2007....   (Associated Press)
A US private security officer with his face covered against dust, sits in a Chinook helicopter as they accompany Iraq's US civilian administrator L. Paul Bremer on a visit to the southern marsh areas of Iraq in this Thursday, Sept 18, 2003 file photo near the southern Iraqi city of...
A US private security officer with his face covered against dust, sits in a Chinook helicopter as they accompany Iraq's US civilian administrator L. Paul Bremer on a visit to the southern marsh areas...   (Associated Press)
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Blackwater may not have a license to revoke
Wired

Convoy seemed to be reacting to earlier bombings
New York Times

More background on Blackwater
Middle East Times

World • Money • US

 
Baghdad • State Department • Blackwater • Iraq violence • security firms

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